Hello,

I am 33, married, mother of 2-son 4 years, daughter 10 months, currently living in west of Ireland. My husband has been offered a job in Switzerland and we only have about a week to decide. We know very little about Switzerland and have no German. How is it to live there? Any tips?

Thank you all for your time reading it.
Andilek

I live in Switzerland, and want to moove to Ireland. Hope that helps.

Hi, i'm from UK... Lived here (Villiage north of Zurich) for 3 1/2 years, still don't speak much Germany, great place to live and especially bring up children.. my comparison is to the UK rather than Ireland though so not sure how much that helps... Quality of life here is very good, especially if you like the outdoors...

Hi there,

the not having German can be, either the maker or breaker,,, I came over 17 yrs ago with none (apart from Ja wohl mein commandant!, gesundheit,achtung, luftwaffe!!,,, all gleaned from my brothers' war comics at the time!!).

Note,,, I said 17 years ago,,,, I married here, had/have kids here....

It so much depends on your outlook on life really.

My main philosophy here is,, I can be happy or unhappy in my own home country, or I can be happy or unhappy in Switzerland...

That you are considering it at all, with little kiddies to boot, suggests to me, your interest has been tweaked and I have a feeling there is an adventure in the offing!!?

I admire anyone that is willing to consider travelling abroad to another culture ( esp with littlies) to brave a new lifestyle,, still, bottom line , only you can decide which way to go....

The good thing is,,, there is always that option of saying,,, "We tried, but it just wasn't us".

The planes, boats and trains are running daily.

Maybe both your hearts end up in Bristol!!!,, or you choose West Ireland, not Switzerland...

All good choices!!!...

Hell, that was a real help, wasn't it!!?

The only real tip I can offer is,,, end of the day, no matter where you are, it's up to you/all of you, to make the most of it.

Hope it doesn't go too hard making the decision...

Make your decision,,,live it,,, don't look back, carry on.

You always have time to make another one later.....

Best wishes,

Ros

Are you drunk ?

dave

Thanks for a quick reply. Much appreciate it.

My husbands job would be 30km west of Zurich. Is there a lot of English speaking people living in that area and is it easy enough to meet people? Are Swiss people generally friendly towards foreigners living in Switzerland? You know, things like that. What I am looking for really is a first hand experience living there. I will search this side more for any useful information about schools, housing, etc. but as we are pressed for time, I just really want to know if people would recommend the move.

Again, thank you so much.
Andilek

ever been to ireland ? I wouldn't trade my swiss 1 bedroom flat for a castle in Ireland. The weather is awful, it's very expensive and both the friendliness of the people and beauty of the landscape are waayyy overrated.

Andilek, have you ever been to Switzerland ? why don't you give yourself a few days to visit Zurich and decide ?

No one on here can tell you if you should move or not, there are too many factors to take into account.

I am extremely happy living here (note that I live in the French speaking part). As for the swiss being friendly towards foreigners, I personaly think they are. In general I find them to be polite and kind. Some foreigners here are well integrated and generaly fulfilled. Others do feel a bit isolated and lost in the swiss culture but are still happy to be living here and enjoy the high salaries and outdoors. Then there's the ones who spend all their time moaning about this or that swiss problem and post about it on the internet, a lot.

welcome to the forum by the way.

Hi again,

Have been spending my time reading all kinds of things here and have realised that I should probably tell you more about myself and our intentions behind the move to Switzerland.

I am not Irish myself. I am Czech, but have been living in Ireland since 1997. Came here to work for a multinational co., met my husband, married and now have 2 kids, as you already know. I also lived in London for a year and Vienna for 2 before moving to Ireland, so I am not completely new to living abroad.
Have travelled a lot too and been to Switzerland twice, but visiting is not the same as living there. It took me 5 years to settle here in Ireland and I have always had the language. I am outgoing and have no problem talking to people, whatever nationality.
My husband is Irish and has never lived abroad. He is also terrible at languages, still doesnt speak mine! However he has been interested in living abroad for some time. The children are the right age, not in school yet and so learning another language should not be a problem for them. I`d love them to experience a different culture. It enriches you and you become more addaptable to different situations in life.

And as for the weather in Ireland-you do get use to it, but are very limited in activities. We have no snow, so no skiing, ice-skating etc. and the summers are very unpredictable, so forget swimming in a pool, sea. Also I am a big fan of cycling and as there is no cycle tracks in Ireland and people drive crazy, I have not been brave enough to try here and miss it terribly.

....one more plus for me. I`d be closer to home and my family.

But saying that, I am also a very responsible person, esp. now with kids and so want to find out as much as possible about Switzerland before making any decisions. It was easier moving from one place to another when I was single and only had to consider myself. Now I have a family and therefore more responsibility.

Btw, I don`t drink at all, so I am not drunk!
Thanks for listening.
Andilek

1. DaveA was talking to Delphinium Blue - hence the quote.
2. Don't drink at all? Sure you're Irish?

Anyway, all the information needed to help make an informed choice can be found on the EF.

Start here.

O.K. sorry, but I did say I am not Irish! I consider my family being more Irish, cause 3 out of 4 were born in Ireland. I have kept my Czech nationality as that's who I am and wouldn't want my children to miss the opportunity of having a Czech nationality too.

Reg. drinking, I believe it is the Czechs who are no. 1 in drinking beer, but I am an exception, just don't like the drink. My husband is real Irish though-likes his beer and the pub scene, so there is kind of a balance here

Hi Andilek,

just want to beg your pardon for my obscure post of yesterday and being the source of confusion regarding the the question of sobriety.

It is true we had been celebrating earlier on and while I wasn't "drunk" as such, I wasn't entirely sober either. DaveA pulled me up on it....

I was really (in my fuzzy way) trying to say that only you guys can make this decision.. As was said by another poster, no-one on here tell you to move or not.

Good luck in whatever you decide and again, sorry for the confusion.

Ros

I'm the biggest scaredy cat when it comes to anything to do with change so when I moved out to CH 7 years ago my friends and family thought I'd be back in a week. Well, 7 years on, I'm still here and love it to bits. My husband is half Swiss half Brit so, to be honest, that might have cushioned the upheaval a bit. Having said that, I threw myself into Swiss life and made a determined (if not so successful) effort to learn German - there are loads of schools here in Zurich - and get to grips with the culture.

I like my rules, structure and routine and Switzerland has that in spades so that might be one of the reasons I'm happy here. I could be a closet Swiss . And, compared to 7 years ago, when I was missing stuff like baked beans and digestive biscuits, they now even have a few British comforts tucked away in the supermarkets.

It's safe, clean, the people are very polite (sometimes frustratingly so ). It's great for kids - they can walk to school alone and play in the street.

I'd say go for it - there are far worse places on this earth you could move to. Switzerland is one of the best!

You will find that if you only speak English you will be fine - even conductors on trains, etc., usually speak a bit of English but I would definitely try to pick up the lingo.

If you put the kids in a creche a couple of days a week (which unfortunately isn't very cheap here!) they'll pick up German automatically.

Take care

Frankie

switzerland is an amazing place to live with a high quality of life, also crime is low and the swiss are friendly and welcomimg. the climate is very different to england with warmer summers and colder winters. there is alot to do here with sports and festivals. i am married to a swiss woman and we have a daughter, the education system is also very good with normally higher education or an apprenticeship for 3 years when finishing school. I find living is also expensive, but we have more money in our pockets at the end of the day.
as for learning german it is a difficult language to learn. you can learn high german which the swiss understand, but they speak there own german with so many dialekts it takes along time to learn, but many speak english when you have problems. as for your husband liking the irish pub scene, you can not replace this in switzerland. i miss this having a laugh with your mates down the pub. i find it not so easy meeting people and having friends like i did back home. i have also lived in new zealand and travelled asia and australasia, and it is not the same here in switzerland. but every one has a differnt experience to tell, i hope you make the right decision.

Thank you all for loads of great information. That's what I need. I do know that at the end of the day it is up to us to make the decision, but it does make it easier when you hear other peoples stories and experiences (sober or not). I do very much appreciate anyone taking the time to reply.

I am also glad, that you have thought of my husband too reg. the pub culture. We are in this together, but as he is more private and I respect that, I have given you more info about myself. Also he has to look at it from the job point of view and I from the family/children point.

Btw, would any of you know if there is many bilingual Montesorri schools in the Zurich area? Also were the English (who would have the same plug and vaultage system as Ireland) able to take things like TVs, PCs, Radios etc. with them? Does it work in Switzerland?

Ta. Andilek

Schools - search the Family Matters forum - loads stuff there.

Most electrical stuff works fine. TVs are different - ok for satellite etc but the Swiss TV broadcasts are on a different resolution or something, anyway, doesn't work.

I'm Irish, (from the west), and moved to Zurich about a year ago (was in London for a year). I'm quite happy here now, and my wife and I are glad we made the move.

- People have been mostly friendly
- Language barrier is the most difficult part, but it's a challenge and I like learning languages anyway, It can be very difficult at first. What kind of support will your husband's company provide? I had some support from an agency which helped, but it's still difficult being bombarded with correspondence in German.
- Finding a place to be live can be quite difficult, so if the company is going to help with this, that would be a big plus
- Weather is much better than in the west of Ireland, so much better, one of the biggest reasons I would have to stay here
- You are closer to home, but also to so many other cultures, and the outdoors, skiiing etc.
- Transport is great in Zurich
- It can be difficult to break into Swiss society, but if you make an effort you will make friends. It can also be difficult for foreigners to settle into life in Ireland as you probably know, so are you willing to do that again?
- I miss certain things about Ireland, especially friends, but the advantages here outweigh the disadvantages for me. I would say if you are happy in Ireland stay there, if not, or if you really want to try something new then go for it...

Montessori is the right name, and I really hope you don't want to send your kids in a school that use such method..

That apart, I consider Ireland one of the most depressing places to live in Europe. Weather is awful and there's not much to do other than drinking. Infrastructures are 20-30 years behind compared to the major EU countries (just think they don't have electrified railway line) but they well thought to increase prices ranking so Ireland to one of the most expensive places.

I don't mention anything about housing standards, but I could write a poem about that. As someone said, I wouldn't trade my apartment in Zurich neither with a castle in Ireland too.

Happy to stay here. This said, consider how your husband would react to a complete change of life. You seem to be a person "prepared" to changes and your kids will mostly have no problems to integrate being so young, but your partner might not be of the same idea in the long term..

Wish you the best of luck with everything.


Fabio

Ireland's a fantastic place - but we're not discussing that here.

Without German, you should be fine. Learning it will however increase your "enjoyment" of life in general (or French/Italian depending on where you will end up).

Your kids will benefit from being immersed in the local education system. I assume they're bilingual now (son that is, given daughter's age right now) and becoming fluent in more languages can only be a plus point.

You can use your telly here, but it depends on what model you have. We took our 'Sharp' TV over from London and it works fine. You have to check the instruction booklet for your TV to see if it is PAL compatible. I seem to remember that most TV sets from Europe are fine, but Eastern Europe and France have different systems.

I also rewired Swiss plugs onto all our appliances and it was really easy.

The only 'electical' problem I've had is lighbulbs - most of our lamps are bayonet cap and they only seem to have screw cap bulbs on sale here.

Hello again,

I can't get over the friendliness of this whole side. Seems like I came to the right place with my questions. All the information is very useful and you even mention things I wouldn't even think of myself (like the bulbs).

I myself don't seem to have a problem learning a language, considering that I am actually able to talk to you all in English + I've always wanted to learn another one anyway. My son is bilingual-well understands Czech, but doesn't want to speak it at the mo, apparently quite normal at his age. It would be most difficult for my husband of course, as he is really not good at learning languages and has no experience of living abroad. But he's willing to take the chance, said he liked what he saw when he was there and even went as far as to say that it would put Ireland in shame in a minute reg. safety, infrustructure, cleanliness etc.

What we are strugling with now is to find out the cost of living, housing, etc. I have searched the side, but cannot really find the answer. Any ideas where I could find out if what's he been offered would be enough for the family to survive on? I most likely will not be able to work, so we would have to survive on his salary only.

Btw, what you are saying about Ireland is true. Transport, services and health care are quite bad here. But just like the weather you get use to it.

Thanks a lot for your time and help.
Andilek